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ARTIST STATEMENT
- On "The Art of Mugging"...I love old things. I constantly find myself drawn to stories and artifacts from a time way before my own. I can’t explain why—I’m just an old soul.
I’ve been collecting 16mm prints since I was fifteen. The Art of Mugging: A Collection of 16mm Portraits was created using films from my collection for my Senior Project at Bard College. The footage I used is from miscellaneous home movies dating from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. I received a lot of these films in poor condition, and was saddened by the fact that one day they would deteriorate to a point where they would become unwatchable. That’s when I decided to make something out of them.
The movies that make up The Art of Mugging are not only movies—they are paintings, collages, artifacts, and oddities. Something so wonderful and weird happens in home movies. The amateur-filmmaker films what they find interesting. The result often comes out looking like a moving portrait. I took these funny, loving, and sometimes awkward portrait-like scenes and isolated them. Manipulating each scene, frame-by-frame, by slathering a cocktail of fast-drying top coat, ink, bleach, toluene, and finger print grease—each movie becomes twenty-four paintings per second.
I plan on adding to this collection in the near future, but for now, here are the first 16.
The movies in The Art of Mugging:
The Royal Couple
Snow
Little One
Party Time
Nun
Unrequited Love
Girl
Deer
Dennis
Too Much to Drink
Wedded
Catholic Girl Line
Driver
Boy
Cat
Moon Lady
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Info
- Artist, Art Lover, and Professional Do-gooderMuseums and Institutions | Cleveland/Akron, Ohio Area, USSummary
Vibrant and inventive individual with a passion for arts and academia. Interested in creative ventures, working with the public, and progressive pursuits. Has experience in arts administration and the performing arts as well as media fields from film and video production, to blogging and social media. Takes care of details and organizes with ease. Excellent at taking the lead, facilitating interpersonal relationships, thinking quickly, and maintaining an enthusiastic outlook.
Experience- Oct 2011 - PresentMembership & Box Office Associate, Visitor Services / Cleveland Museum of Art
-Provide superior customer service to patrons of the Cleveland Museum of Art by supplying information and fielding questions about the museum and its exhibitions.
-Persuade patrons to support the museum by purchasing museum memberships and handle the selling of tickets to exhibits, films, concerts and special events over telephone and in person.
-Work closely with co-workers other departments to make sure tasks are completed in a timely manner.
-Prepare mailings, enter data, sanitize audio guides, and keep brochures stocked.
-Rent iPads, explain how to use the ArtLens app and maneuver in Gallery One, Cleveland Museum of Art's technological learning space.
-Curated and produced a selection of silent films that were shown at three exclusive Cleveland Museum of Art member events promoting the exhibit "Youth & Beauty: Art of the American 1920's".
-Assisted in the running of Martin Creed's contemporary art installation "Work No. 965: Half the air in a given space" by maintaining a gallery filled with 25,000 purple balloons and helping visitors safely interact with the piece.
- Oct 2011 - PresentBox Office Personnel / Ensemble Theatre
-Sell tickets to theatre goers, keep will call box and guest list in order, and manage bank and earnings after each show.
- May 2011 - PresentFreelance Filmmaker, Photographer, and Screenwriter / Self
-In the process of creating a series of works made from a self-facilitated archive of 16mm film prints called "The Art of Mugging: A Collection of 16, 16mm Portraits".
Watch it here: http://vimeo.com/album/1593896-Collaborate with local artists on various video and print projects.
- Jul 2008 - May 2011Assistant House Manager / The Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts
-Interacted with patrons of all ages to ensure they had a positive experience at the Fisher Center. Handled patron complaints and ticketing issues.
-Responsible for training new ushers. Wrote, produced, and edited Usher Training Video which will be used for future training sessions.
-Maintained detailed House Logs which recounted important information about the running of each show.
-Made sure Front of House operations moved smoothly and effectively before, during, and after show time.
- Jun 2008 - May 2011Admission Assistant / Tour Guide / Bard College
-Represented Bard College in an informed, respectful, and energetic way.
-Gave extensive guided tours of Bard College to high school students and their parents. Able to answer challenging inquires and hold the attention of group for an extended period of time.
-Mentored and supervised new tour guides. Familiarized them with tour route and taught them basics of giving informative and entertaining tour.
-Responded to prospective student telephone and email inquiries.
-Scheduled tours, interviews, and class visits.
-Updated Bard College Admissions Blog and organized print media. Performed routine office tasks.
Education-
2007 - 2011Bard CollegeB.A. Degree in Film and Electronic Arts
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Interests:History, assemblage, beautifying my spaces, Americana, obsolete film technologies, reading biographies, collecting things, hiking, helping others.
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ABOUT AMY
- Hey... who is this "Amy" character, anyway?
Amy Strumbly (b. 1988) grew up in a rural town in the northeast corner of Ohio. As a child, Amy spent a lot of time in her backyard staging dramatic re-enactments of popular soap operas with her Barbie dolls. Today, Amy is still doing the same types of things-- except now she writes, films, and edits what she stages and uses real-live actors instead of Barbies.
Amy graduated from Bard College in the spring of 2011 with a B.A. in Film and Electronic Arts. Her Senior Thesis Project, The Art of Mugging: A Collection of 16, 16mm Portraits has been known to make all who see it squeal in sheer delight. She is currently working on expanding this collection.
Not unlike Miss America, Amy wishes for world peace and wants to pursue work that will help make the world a more beautiful place to live.
